July 27 is the official start of Need for Speed World

After reading Dave's preview of Need for Speed World, are you anxious to jump in the driver's seat? EA has announced that the MMO racing game will be avaialable for digital download on July 27 for PC. Starting today, however, players who purchase the Need for Speed WorldStarter Pack will gain early access to the game immediately. That pack will also grant exclusive cars, double XP, VIP status and more.

All of the details can be found here. Let us know what you think when the title goes live later this week.

NEED FOR SPEED WORLD BRINGS MMO RACING TO THE MASSES ON JULY 27

Pre-Order Now for Early Access and Challenge the World to Become the Top Street Racer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – July 20, 2010 – Black Box, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced that Need for Speed™ World, the massively multiplayer online action racing game, is available for digital download on July 27 for the PC. Need for Speed World combines the rush of illicit street racing, deep RPG style progression and vehicle customization into an immersive, socially-connected Need for Speed experience. Players can compete against any one of their friends, family or pick from thousands of top ranked players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits across 150 miles of sprawling open world.

Players can pre-order the Need for Speed World Starter Pack* today to gain early access to the game on July 20. Gamers will also unlock exclusive cars, earn double XP, reserve their driver names and have VIP status permanently displayed in their driver profile before the game officially launches.

On July 20, the Need for Speed World Starter Pack will be available for $20. The Starter Pack includes a credit for $20 worth of SpeedBoost (the in-game currency), full access up to level 50 and a bundled assortment of power-ups including Nitrous and Traffic Magnet to help players get started. Players can also purchase additional items like power-ups, double XP periods and even rental cars starting at just a few cents.** A free client download of Need for Speed World will also be available at world.needforspeed.com to give gamers a sample of the intense street-racing action with access to all races, pursuits and career progression up to level 10.

Need for Speed World is being developed by Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio and is available on the PC. More information and details on the game can be found at world.needforspeed.com or follow us on Twitter at NeedforSpeed. Press can download assets at http://info.ea.com.

* Conditions and restrictions apply to this preorder offer. See eastore.ea.com for details.
**Conditions and restrictions apply. See details at point of purchase.
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About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA Mobile TM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.